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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wound · rush · mark · bark · club · last · tube · rest

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. rush — hurry
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. last — final
  6. club — for dancing
  7. club — for golf
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. bark — to shout
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. tube — the underground
  14. rest — a break
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. tube — a container
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mark — a trace
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. wound — an injury

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com